Today's Astrology Forecast | Monday, September 21, 2020 - challenging news and conversations - be brave, go deep, merge/purge, clean things up

 

 

The Moon is in deep/rich Scorpio now - we are nurtured by merging, purging, going deep, diving into puzzles/mysteries.  

 

She sextiled a retrograde Pluto at 3:06AM EDT then a retrograde Saturn at 7:50AMEDT and finally she sextiles our Virgo Sun at 2:12PM EDT - these sextiles are today's route through the Mercury/Pluto stuff we talked about in the weekly HERE - the challenging information/conversations.

There is always a way through.

The sextiles are Scorpio/Cappy and Scorpio/Virgo - today's way through.

The parts of us that need to be right. The parts of us that need to be good. The parts of us that need to be in control. Where is Capricorn in your natal chart? Where is Virgo? Where is Scorpio? We all carry these energies to a greater or lesser extent.

And, of course, we can only be right when we label someone else as wrong and we can only be good when we label someone else as bad. Without scapegoats we would actually have to own our own crap. 

 

The more I look at astrology charts and the more I talk to people about them, the clearer it becomes that our road maps (natal charts) and the subsequent transits over the course of our lives to those road maps are more relevant and more nuanced than we could ever imagine. 

 

Our beliefs, the way we see the world (our natal chart) become our reality, our way of connecting with the world, and then the world reacts/responds to us.
 

Maybe the biggest question we all face right now is how to live our own truth, even when that truth is not supported by other people and even when that truth does not support other people. Ouch. What is it we want that we don't want to look at/own up to?

And just as important - how can we hold a space for other people to live their truth even when we do not agree with them? Even when it hurts us. More ouch. 

At the same time we need to be mindful of the bigger picture as the "service to self" vs "service to others" war plays out, do we really want to be on the side of "service to self" - this Chiron in Aries, every man for himself thing is wearing me the f*ck out.

In 2016, I wrote, "we are living in the days between the Age of Pisces (religion, patriarchy) and the Age of Aquarius (science, equality). We can see far enough ahead now to understand that we could get this science/equality thing very wrong, very fast, if we are not careful. If we lose our heart (Leo). If we lose our connection to our passion (Scorpio).  If we lose our connection to each other (Neptune). It is Pisces that rules our eternal connection, spirituality, love. Aquarius rules disconnection and chaos. What do we really need to carry with us because there is only so much room on the ark."

Flash ahead four years later and here we are on the ark and I, for one, am still so loaded down with baggage I feel in perpetual danger of sinking.

The Cappy sextiles with the lunar energies today tell us we need to be standing in our own shoes. The truth of who we are. We need to be prepared to live with the consequences of whatever we are dishing out and whatever is being served (because on some level we ordered it, even if we think we didn't). Scorpio is only sated when things get intimate/deep. Go deep. Take this stuff seriously. Stand in your power. Less is more with Scorpio - less words can be more impactful, less clutter more beautiful. 

 

That Mercury square we talked about in the weekly tells us cooperation/collaboration will unravel if the tension/intensity isn't dealt with.

So life tosses us some Scorpio so we can deal with it!

 

The Waxing Sextile - Scorpio/Virgo - is this month's smooth flow from last week's New Moon in Virgo. Scorpio brings the smooth. This will pull in the theme of your Scorpio house, but also universal Scorpio energies to your disposal. Going deeper than Virgo's need for perfection/quality. Because this "quality" will not be enough. Where's the passion? Where's the mystery? Scorpio teaches us by showing us what we don't need. Go back to what you started last week and go deeper with it/connect with it on another level. Virgo is the surface cleaning/light watering and Scorpio is the deep cleaning/drenching/don't be afraid to start over if you need to/facing the deep truth. 

 

Maybe last week's New Moon energy needs a deep cleaning/come to Jesus moment of truth. 

 

Then it will be ready to rise rooted. 

 

So will we.

High level Scorpio is the phoenix rising from the ashes. Make it simpler. Be honest. Clean up any mess. And keep in mind the other part of the waxing (growing) sextile (opportunity) is Virgo - don't allow yourself to be overwhelmed - take it one step at a time. Stay practical. Time is on our side here.

 

xo all

photo by the amazing metindemiralay

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of September 21st - September 28th, 2020 - justice, accountabilty, making an argument, challenging news and conversations, responding and not reacting, what would ruth do?

 

 "Real change, lasting change, happens one step at a time." ... Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Pisces Sun, Scorpio Moon, Saturn in Aqua)

This week is going to be an intense one folks:

MONDAY - Mercury squares Pluto

TUESDAY - Sun into Libra/Equinox

WEDNESDAY - Mercury squares Saturn (enters shadow of October's retrograde)

THURSDAY - Mercury opposes Mars

SUNDAY - Mercury into Scorpio

When Mercury went into Libra we knew at some point he was going to have to square the Cappy pile-up and oppose Mars. 

 

So, here we go. This is the week.

 

We could be challenged by information, communication and conversations this week. Our feet held to the fire. Made to account for past mistakes. Issues with authority can have our attention. Relationships will be tricky fields to navigate. We could be tempted to dominate someone or have someone pushing our back against the wall. 

 

Negotiations to reach a space of fairness/balance will be complicated and some will be long and messy. Buttons will be pushed and probably not so much the kind that open the door to a brand new car.

Our Libra shadows coming into the light - out of balance relationships, passive-aggressive tendencies, any need to please or pour that pink paint! 

 

People with planets/points near 22- 26 degrees of the cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn) will be feeling this energy strongest.

 

It will be important to keep a cool head - and also to forgive ourselves and other people when we/they can't always do that. 

 

A heads up that Saturn is slowing to station (direct) and Mercury will begin walking degrees he/she (as us) is going to walk three times - expect some slow downs, some things to not go as planned and even just fall apart by early October. And then October itself looks kind of like a fall picnic without any sandwiches, or good weather, or friendly banter or well, any actual picnicking. 

 

It might be our most challenging month of 2020. Muscles will be built.

 

Remember our guiding star/North Node in Gemini - stay flexible and curious, keep it small and local. There won't be one big move that fixes everything, so don't make yourself nuts. Our mantra within all communication, and maybe especially in our closest relationships, could be something like, "when I listen and when I can learn from this other person, I win".

 

Keep in mind the reflective mirror life is holding up to us via outer circumstances and other people - to show us WHO WE ARE now. This is actually a great gift that only looks like an overdrawn bank account notice or some upsetting words/news from a friend/partner. This is all Libra/Capricorn. Grit and grace. Calm assertive. The most important thing and sometimes the only thing that is important at all is how we will respond. Maybe think - what would Ruth do?

With two inner planets changing signs, an inner planet squaring multiple outer planets and two inner planets squaring each other - the collective world is being squeezed down into our personal experiences. The patriarchy is ending. There is no Plan B for the patriarchy because in reality it has already ended. We are looking at/holding onto something that no longer exists. Most of us are carrying karma and old contracts and commitments that have already ended. 

 

For everyone now in order to stay sane during these changes a need to make things simpler/less crowded, less complicated - more authentic.

 

Know we are truly all in this together - let's unpack the week.

MONDAY - Mercury at 22 degrees Libra squares Pluto at 22 degrees Capricorn. 

 

Mercury in Libra wants to be polite and wants things to be fair and Pluto is all hard edges. Intense interactions and conversations. Manipulations. Obsessions. Jealousy. Authority. The need for diplomacy. A push for the truth. An intense focus. Clear your head.

 

Words can cut like a knife. 

 

Challenging news/verbal confrontations where maybe we are fighting about one thing, but there is a whole other level of stuff underneath that we are really fighting about. If pressure has been building in us (or someone else) to SAY SOMETHING, well, here is where it might get said. And probably in a more cutting /harsh way than anyone intended. Plutonian squares can be hard "no's"/firm endings. Situations that feel like life and death and sometimes they actually are, but not usually.

 

This is powerful energy - especially happening at the powerful 22 degrees Cappy - activated in January via the "time runs out" Saturn/Pluto/Mercury/Ceres conjunction. A good use of this would be deep research, really listening, getting to the bottom of something, disclosure, TRUTH.

Pluto can show us via Mercury (in Libra) an uncomfortable truth and we push it back into the closet at our own peril. Especially with Mercury about to go retrograde in Scorpio answering to Pluto!

TUESDAY - the Sun moves into Libra, crossing 0 degrees (an Aries point - where our collective attention is focused on the SAME THING) and giving us the Autumn Equinox (Spring, down-under). This year's Autumn Equinox chart is kind of dicey because Libra squares Capricorn (Saturn, Pluto, Jupiter) and opposes Aries (Mars), so the Sun will kind of be repeating what Mercury is doing this week later in October. 

 

A light (the Sun) will be shone on what is out-of-balance or what is unfair, particularly within relationships. The curtain is drawn back and our Libra houses (and their themes) wake up.

 

With the Sun in Libra we will all be burning Libra fuel. We move ahead through balance, compromise and through our relationships with other people which won't be easy with the Cappy squares and Aries opposition, but nothing about 2020 has been easy anyway!

WEDNESDAY - Mercury at 25 degrees Libra squares Saturn at 25 degrees Capricorn. 

This is the first of three squares - the one with Saturn retrograde. We get the next on November 1st with Mercury retrograde and the final square on November 6th with both planets direct.

So, we know whatever this complicated negotiation is this week - it is long-lasting. We are back and forth reaching a point of balance/fairness with something/someone. Libra/Cappy makes me think of those "grit and grace" signs. Or that dog whisperer guy who was always asking people to be "calm assertive". And, of course, the incredible icon of justice and equality (and steel!) Ruth Bader Ginsburg (who passed last week as first Mercury in Libra (news of a woman) squared Jupiter in Cappy (structural changes within our legal system) and then the Moon - our emotions, the public knowledge - followed).

 

Whatever this is, it matters or we wouldn't be getting three shots at it!

 

In the meantime, the here and now, as Mercury squares Saturn there could be verbal/written rules that need to be followed. We are required to say the right thing/maybe even agree to something we don't totally agree with or are unsure/undecided about. We might feel we have to be polite out of fear of what will happen if we aren't and this might snowball into an explosion later. 

 

Saturn is retrograde so this won't be an entirely new situation/conversation. This also speaks of an added seriousness to partnership communications and mental activities. This is not a time to be glib or airy. Sober words mean serious business. Keep in mind the three-peating design of this challenge - we will be here again. If you are signing a contract now, prepare to keep your end of the bargain.

 

(echoing this theme, Mercury begins walking the degrees she/he will walk three times between now and November, so pay attention to what is happening - we start this journey in cordial Libra then merge into intense and penetrating Scorpio then we double back)

 

THURSDAY - Mercury at 26 degrees Libra opposes Mars (retrograde) at 26 degrees Aries

We really need to be walking our talk now!

Here's the exploding cherry on top of Mercury's messy week. Arguments. Competition. Challenging information. Internalized anger - what are we really so pissed off about?! - comes up and out through fiery words.

Take care driving. Stay safe. Take care operating heavy machinery (and light machinery, don't toss your phone across the room - just sayin'). Patience is needed. 

Of course, this is probably connecting to the Mercury/Pluto, Mercury/Saturn stuff and we can only take so much. Give yourself a break. Turn off the news if you need to because it will surely be cray/cray.

On Friday, Saturn stands still preparing for his direct station on the 29th - things can change around on us. Keep this in mind and stay flexible. 

SUNDAY - Mercury enters Scorpio and because of his/her upcoming retrograde will be here (other than a quick two week dip back into Libra) until December 1st. 

 

So, now instead of answering to Venus and the Sun, Mercury is answering to Mars and Pluto - that's a pretty big left hand turn! His actual retrograde will be from October 13th - November 3rd - stationing direct on the United States Election Day!

During this transit we will be getting to the bottom of things and will not be satisfied with Libra's (Mercury's last stop) conversational civilities. We'll want to know, and think/talk about, what is really happening.

It won't always be comfortable.
 

Decide first if you really want to know what is hiding underneath because Plutonian authenticity is not only transformational - it is permanent. There is no going back to "not knowing". Mysteries can be solved. The truth could come out. Secrets can be languaged and spoken out loud.

 
Difficult conversations will create deeper levels of intimacy now. If you are dating someone and you have sex (also Scorpio ruled) with them you can never go back to not having sex with them even if you never have sex with them again. 

The intimacy is still there. 

It will be like this with our words now. 

 
And once we know the information - we own it. It's our move (with Scorpio the move might be internal). 

 
It changes who we are and we ignore who we are at our own peril.

 

Mercury is going to oppose Uranus three times during this transit - think : "mind blown" - we need to hold on loosely to our certainty about ALMOST EVERYTHING.
 

Careless language (disrespect for ourselves and others) and our careless treatment of other people's words (and their reaction to ours) will be karmic. Keep this in mind. 

There could be battles for mental supremacy and mind games during this transit. People prone to manipulation could be extremely effective (or someone will finally see right to the bottom of what we are doing - maybe that someone will be ourselves).

This is a time to take a good, long look at what we are really seeking when we are trying to make a situation/person behave in a way that pleases us. Think about it. There are gold nuggets to be mined now. Even tiny specks can be used to create great fortunes. Scorpio rules our inheritance. 

 
The fly in the jelly here is that we might think we are mining for gold when we are really just obsessing on the same old same old. Scorpio rules obsession and compulsion and our minds could easily go there now.

Notice it. Don't judge it. Think about - "what does it mean that I keep thinking about this?".

Scorpio rules death, too. It's not only what we dig up, but what we put into the ground that matters now. This is going to be a long transit, we will talk about it more as we move through it.

 

Back with the dailies as we add in the Moons. 

 

Get enough rest. 

 

Take care of yourself. 

 

Know there are some things we are just going to have to experience. Because as challenging as this week is with Mercury's squares and oppositions - in October, we will have both the Sun AND Mars making them.

 

xo all

artwork by the talented joel8x

saturday Night Mystery - the astrology of the murder of Richard Oland - the case of the son vs the mistress

This mystery is from a mini-series trending on Sundance Channel right now called "The Suspect". 

 

Hubs and I binged everything except the final episode one night (this is reminding me I need to do the Tiger King and Making a Murderer charts), so I thought we would look at a couple charts before we see how this all turns out - which I won't give away here in case anyone wants to watch it. 

 

Richard Oland was a hard-nosed/tough cookie type. A 69 year old wealthy (old money) Canadian businessman, sportsman and philanthropist. The father of three and long time married multi-millionaire was found by his assistant, on the early morning of July 7, 2011, dead in the office, having been (in what local police called the bloodiest crime scene they had ever witnessed) bludgeoned to death the previous evening.
 

His son Dennis, a softer sort and the last person known to have seen Richard alive, is arrested two years later. Although pleading his innocence he is tried and found guilty of his father's murder. He is sentenced to life in prison (which appears to mean 10 years in Canada?). His lawyers appeal and the verdict is overturned a few months later, due to, what was determined to be improper jury instruction. Dennis was freed, but scheduled for a retrial - this time with a judge and not a jury. 

The evidence against Dennis is: he was a deeply in debt father of two, he was the last known person to see his father alive (Richard's assistant having left the two of them the evening of the murder pouring over family history charts), he told the police he was wearing a blue blazer the night his father was killed when later closed circuit camera footage showed him wearing a brown blazer, the blazer was shipped off to a dry cleaner the next day (his wife testified this was done by her with other laundries), but a very small amount of dried blood belonging to his father was later found on the jacket, his detached demeanor at a police interrogation (as determined by investigators), the father's missing cellphone - which has never been found - making its final ping off a cellphone tower near where the son went after he left his father's office. Did I miss something? I might have. But I think this is the gist.

 

Now, because there was closed camera footage of Dennis leaving his father's office (he claimed to have left, returned for the family history info he had forgotten and then left again), the time of the murder - if he is the perpetrator - can be narrowed down to a very small window. The first chart is for that time. 

Let's unpack this chart and then we'll look at an interesting twist!

The chart is Sag rising - this rules the victim, Richard. He had just returned from a sailing trip/adventure and was a sort of larger than life character and this seems to fit. The Ascendant is exactly inconjunct Pluto (death, power, also big money situations, inheritances) with Pluto ruling the 5th house (children) and the 12th house (endings, endings in small spaces, karmic endings). The ruler of Sag is Jupiter shown here in the 5th house (children). The other significator for Richard is the Moon. In this itty bitty window of time we are working with, the Moon has just changed houses, is exactly conjunct the mid-heaven, is void of course, and in Virgo (work) and answering to Mercury in the 8th house (death). Saturn - the end of the matter and where the bones end up - in the 10th house (business/career/the public). So, our loop here is - 1st house, 5th house, 9th house (legal issues, larger than life story-lines, Jupiter's natural house and here the Moon is exactly conjunct the mid-heaven telling us this will become a very public story), 8th house.

 

The perpetrator is the descendent - here in Gemini. Someone who can be like more than one person (sometimes two actual people). Able to compartmentalize. A talker/thinker. A child can sometime show up as Gemini. With Mars conjunct suggesting the murder was likely brutal with injuries to the victim's head. The perpetrator is angry/passionate/acting somewhat impulsively. Maybe younger than the victim. The descendant is exactly inconjunct Jupiter (one of our stand-ins for the victim). A rock and a hard place. Feeling like the victim (in the perpetrator's head) is leaving the perpetrator no choice. Gemini answering to Mercury, so taking us back to that 8th house (death). So, our loop here is - 7th house, 8th house, 9th house.

With both victim and perpetrator connecting to the Moon exactly on the mid-heaven - we can see this story will become known, but will that same Void Moon in the 9th house obscure the truth?

We can look at what the significators for the perpetrator were doing and what they will do. Mercury (ruler of Gemini) was last in the 10th house (work, and we know the son is with his father in the office)  will next move into Cancer (family, and we know the son meets up with his family for food/ice cream). Mars, because being conjunct the descendant he is speaking for the perpetrator, too, was last in that 8th house (death/big money/finance situations and almost certainly the son will have been thinking about his money troubles before visiting his father if the police theory of his asking his father for money and the father saying no and the son returning to the office to murder him, is accurate). Mars will next be in the 6th house of day-to-day stuff and the son, after leaving his father's office, appears to calmly carry on with his life, doing regular things that evening.

It looks a bit cut and dry astrologically with the only unusual thing catching my eye being that Venus lurking a distance behind Mars in the 7th house of the perpetrator. Now, this could be the "women"/love of family (Venus in Cancer)/and most likely family (Cancer) money (Venus) the perpetrator is doing this for, showing up and that could be exactly what it is and the son is guilty here, but the son's attorneys, who remember don't need to prove Dennis's innocence so much as to show his guilt is not proven beyond a reasonable doubt - toss in a monkey wrench which brings us to our 2nd chart.

The defense team introduce their "reasonable doubt". 

 

Richard has a mistress. And she's angry.

 

And the "mistress" was quite pissed off at Richard the evening he was murdered, as evidenced by a slew of angry text messages including one threatening to call his wife. The texts stop right around the time one of the workers in the store downstairs (have I said Richard's offices are over a store?) hears a loud thump upstairs. This is quite some time after Dennis has left his father's office and been spotted on closed camera footage eating dessert with his family. 

(now this "thump" is brought up at trial, with one person in the store claiming the "thump" was quite a bit earlier - right around the time Dennis would have been in the office - and the other remembering it being later in the evening, shortly after the angry texts stop)

Now, for the mistress to have murdered Richard, because remember his cellphone was pinging some distance away in between these differing murder times, Richard would have had to leave the office himself after his son left (that Moon into the 9th could be him traveling) and returned.

The mistress - whose relationship with the victim doesn't appear to be well-hidden - when asked by the police how she had found out Richard was dead, was vague. She said she might have heard from this person or maybe that person. We know she is lying here, because obviously finding out your lover is dead would be memorable enough that you would remember who told you! She has passed a lie detector test (the mini-series tosses some shade on this and we know she has lied, so who knows), but the police are surely keeping in mind, the murder was very brutal. Also, she claims to have been home with her husband and he corroborates her alibi. 

 

So let's unpack that 2nd chart for the time one person claims to have heard the "thump" and the angry texts stop.

We can see now we have a Cappy rising chart. With the Ascendant ruling our victim and answering to Saturn in the 9th. A Cappy ascendant with Pluto conjunct seems to fit a powerful businessman. The Moon, being the other significator for the victim is now in the 8th house - so we know Richard has passed away by this time. But did he pass when the Moon moved out of the 10th and into the 9th (when Dennis was there) or into the 8th (this later time)? The Moon is still in Virgo, but now answering to Mercury in the 7th house (partners/the mistress). The descendant is Cancer now and ruled by that same Moon (still Void) and conjunct Venus in the 7th - a female partner now, being the perpetrator? 

 

(of course there is the crime's brutality working against this theory, but maybe there is an accomplice involved with that Sun nearby, the Sun in a woman's chart can represent the husband, although no evidence supports this and it seems unlikely he would join her - maybe we are seeing the potential for authority to be looking at this and her via that lie detector test and alibi)

The police have ruled out robbery as a motive because Richard's wallet/watch are untouched. The only thing missing is his cellphone - although the police are able to recreate its contents and so see the angry texts from the mistress, which seem mostly about the fact he isn't replying (and of course if Dennis killed him, he would be dead by now, so there's that). So, did the mistress swipe the phone to cover her tracks? Did the son take the phone for some other reason? Is there another murderer - surely such a wealthy and hard nosed businessman might have some enemies - who wanted their tracks covered?

I think this case illustrates how without an exact time, this type of astrology can be very subjective - if we looked at that second timeline in isolation the story would shift (of course the facts and brutality of the crime are not so supportive of this chart). So, we have to be careful. I think this also illustrates - see that 2nd chart's North Node of Fate in the hidden 12th (where it was in the first house of the first chart) - that sometimes when someone appears to "get away with something" there are reasons we can't see/older story-lines playing out - an escape route placed for a reason.

I haven't watched the final episode, so can't give away the ending if I wanted to (which I don't!) but am guessing the judge finds the defense has shown reasonable doubt and the son isn't convicted this second time.

 

Of course, this doesn't actually mean he is innocent .....

xo all

Today's Astrology Forecast | Friday, September 18th, 2020 - rocks and hard places, take your time, keep things honest, adjust, good date night

The Moon is in Libra now - we are nurtured through partners/other people, balance, peace, fairness. Lacks in these areas are more strongly felt. 

 

She sextiles (opportunity) Venus at 5:40PM EDT - a good date night aspect (does such a thing still exist? I hope so!), good for social interactions/diplomacy/cooperation. 

The Moon moves on to square Jupiter (in Capricorn) at 11:35PM EDT. Even though this is a square, things can maybe only get so challenging with Venus and Jupiter - our two most benevolent planets. Maybe you want to be alone with a partner and they are focused on work or other commitments. If you are feeling something more challenging building you might be feeling Mercury (in Libra, too, so answering to Venus) applying to Monday's power-play square with Pluto.

 

This is also the day Mercury inconjuncts Neptune (in Pisces) at 19 degrees while the Sun perfects his inconjunct with Black Moon Lilith (in Aries) at 26 degrees. 

 

Keep things honest and above-board. Give yourself a break today. It's Friday. These aspects can be confusing - multiple rocks and hard places. It can be hard to know what to do.  

 

Uncertainty. Confusion. Delusion. Hard to say the right thing. To reach a compromise. We can be misled or misleading someone else. We are kind of feeling what the other person is thinking/saying, but we could be MISUNDERSTANDING them at the same time. .

The Sun (in Virgo) inconjunct BML might speak of a disconnect between self interest and service or between our chaste and wild sides. Between good and "good enough, let's go". However this shows up, inconjunct energies are divergent/not really reconcilable. We just have to adjust a bit to both sides/know things won't feel totally comfortable. 

Keep in mind our New Moon trine to Saturn - feet on the ground, long term planning/doing. 

There aren't a million options this year, so stop making yourself crazy looking all over the place. Don't make it too big in your head and overwhelm yourself - start small. 

 

Small starts will produce BIG results over the next six months. 

Think about what changes in your day-to-day routine, your health (eating, exercise, stress reduction, mindfulness), your work, your service, your pets - can give you more time/peace/companionship/ security. Whatever seems most practical to what you are needing/wanting. Then get on with that. 

xo all

photo by the talented Rinksy

New Moon in Virgo | September 17, 2020 - dealing with what we have procrastinated, a fork in the road, making a plan and taking action, creating a more genuine and authentic world

 

On Thursday, September 17, 2020 at 7:00AM EDT (precisely, of course, as we would expect a New Moon in Virgo to do it) the Virgo Moon meets the Virgo Sun at 25 degrees giving us this month's New Moon; our annual New Moon in Virgo.

The New Moon is a time when the skies are dark. It is the time of beginning. The seed goes into the ground. The sperm goes into the egg. The nail meets the wood. The words meets the paper.

 

Virgo encourages us to prioritize our health, to value quality over quantity, to be of service to others (not at our own expense though and especially not at the expense of our health), to care for our pets, to take care of the day to day things that make our life our life. It also rules co-workers, employees, our daily activities and our work. And, of course, a specific house in your natal and progressed astrology charts with specific themes. They get a fresh start.

Virgo is the first sign that thinks about 'other people'. We spend the first five signs of the zodiac focused solely on ourselves - forming an identity, expressing who we are and then in just ONE SIGN we begin the tricky transition toward relating to other people. That's why it feels like such a pressure cooker! We move from "how can I be special?" (Leo) to "how can I be useful?". That's a pretty hard right turn!

  

OK! Let's unpack the chart!

The Moon is conjunct the Sun at 25 degrees Virgo. The Moon/Sun are trining (exactly) a retrograde and sober Saturn (in Cappy). They are trining Pluto (also retrograde in Capricorn). They are squaring the North and South Nodes (Gemini/Sagittarius) and the ruler of this lunation (Mercury) is exactly squaring Jupiter. So, we have the ruler of the ruler of the South Node. The Moon/Sun are exactly novile Vesta at 15 degrees Leo. There are waning inconjuncts to Mars, Black Moon Lilith and Eris.

The Moon and Sun trine Saturn. It's exact. It's Saturn - who is kind of a big deal this year. Pluto and Jupiter are both answering to Saturn. He's in his home sign of Capricorn for only a couple more months. It's 2020 and we have had previous New Moons challenged by Saturn. Limits. Responsibilities. Frustration. 

 

But now we get a smooth flow with Saturn, An ease. Time to drop some of those heavy loads. We move forward without all the herky jerky roadblocks. Saturn is retrograde (for one more week), so we are still dealing with old work, old commitments, old responsibilities. 

But I think what we are seeing here at mid-month is a FIX to some of the stuff that has fallen apart over the last year. 

 

The beginning of a fix. That sets us on a new path.

With the Moon trining (brakes off) Saturn and Pluto (authority, structure, power, transformation) a little efforting can take us a long way. 

 

This is about building a solid foundation. Something real and grounding. Something we can count on. Touch. Take to the bank. We are starting something that will last from the dust of the decayed infrastructure of our lives/our Cappy house theme (which collectively would be about our goals/our work in the world/career/public life/our support structures). 

The caveat here are these nodal squares. 

 

In evolutionary astrology squares are called 'skipped steps'. We have procrastinated this stuff, maybe over multiple lifetimes and now the bill comes due/chickens home to roost. 

In Virgo - it's time to do the work, to prioritize our daily routine/organization, our health.

 

The squares are reflected not only by a square from the New Moon to the North and South Nodes, but by the North Node ruler, Mercury  (who also rules the New Moon as ruler of Virgo) squaring Jupiter, the ruler of the South Node. 

 

This is being made doubly clear to us so we can't miss it. 

 

Choices will be made. This is a fork in the road between the past (Sagittarius) and the future (Gemini). We talked about this in detail earlier in the year - HERE.

 

The square indicates there is something that needs to be overcome/finished/decided BEFORE we can get on with this New Moon.

We talked about this in Wednesday's post HERE.

 

To do this - because with the South Node in Sag it can feel overwhelming - we might have to break this stuff down into manageable parts. That's what Mercury (as ruler of Gemini and Virgo) can do. 

 

The South Node in Sag (where we are now) can make us hopeful (to the point of inertia which is itself exhausting) looking for a savior at a time when Chiron is in Aries telling us the best way to get something done is to do it ourselves. That our own unique gifts are needed. We have to trust ourselves to have what it takes because we do. 

 

Trust is different than hope. Being hopeful is good until it isn't. If it keeps us stuck, and remember, this crossroads thing is about coming unstuck - then "hope" isn't such a good thing. 

(It makes me think of an old cartoon where the guy is blasting God because he never won the lottery and God says "well, Tom - or Dick or Harry - did you ever help me out by buying a ticket?")

Remember "hope" was what Pandora had left when she tried to quickly close the jar as all the world's ills made their escape. Did we ever think about what "hope" was doing in that jar in the first place? Hope isn't always a good thing. It can get inflated. It can keep us stuck. It can create inertia which is exhausting.

The South Node in Sag is also about our big-picture beliefs. With the New Moon squaring the South Node in Sag it will be our programmed beliefs and the beliefs we fight to justify that will self-sabotage us now/keep us stuck and not able to move forward. Don't worry about what you believe or what anyone else believes. No one needs you to be right. Just deal with the facts/the details. What is right in front of you. Your own little local world and not the big outer world. 

 

(if you are posting memes and links to news on your Facebook, etc, try not doing that for a while, post pictues from your life - what you are doing or maybe it is time to step away from social media entirely and focus on your real life)

What do you need to do, right now, today and over the next week, before Saturn stations direct next week and things get more cemented into place, to FIX this thing? 

 

Start here.

Mercury is in balanced Libra - able to see and communicate both sides of the situation. Soon, he will be in Scorpio - where he/she will retrograde (!) - and things will get more complicated. NOW is the time for those conversations we have been procrastinating. It won't be easy. But it will be harder LATER.

 

Mercury is going to work through all his/her squares to the Cappy planets and her opposition to Mars in Aries over the next week, so we are going to get CLEAR on what we need to do here anyway through challenges and frustration, but we can make some of this a bit easier if we take it into our hands now.

There is an aspect I don't usually look at, but since it's exact here and involves Vesta and we just had the ruler of this New Moon (Mercury) interacting with dwarf planet Vesta, let's look at it. The Moon/Sun is 40 degrees - called a novile - to Vesta in Leo. And Vesta being about the Vestal Virgins and the Vestal Virgins connecting to Virgo - the sign of the purity of the virgin - this seems to matter.

We associate Vesta with the Vestal Virgins of ancient Rome. Charged from childhood (around age 7-10) with keeping the sacred hearth of the temple burning, the Vestal Virgins were supposedly also required to remain chaste for their 30 year careers. In recognition of their unending devotion to the flame (working round the clock if needed) that kept their civilization alive they were also given the unique freedom that came from being "unowned" by men.

 
This pulls not only Vesta - our scared devotion - in Leo into our New Moon story - what our heart wants, our creative passion, creative devotion, but indicates that this chart, if looked at from the perspective of the 9th harmonic would have the Moon/Sun conjunction where Vesta is now - at 15 degrees Leo. Since the 9th house is Jupiter's house - ruler of the South Node and squaring Mercury (ruler of the North Node and this lunation - and yes, I know this is getting tricky and tongue-twistery!) this kind of 9th house energy - our ethics, truth, our philosophy, our world view, the dangers of the routinization of experience (we are all feeling this due to Covid and the restrictions), something about our basic nature as expansive - has a voice here, too.

 

And since we are looking at the novile aspect, let's look at the sesquiquadrate to future-focused Uranus, busy shaking up our values, our money, our resources in Taurus. This speaks of our need to be uniquely ourselves as we move forward - how a part of us that maybe it once kept us safer to hide, now needs to be brought to the table. Everyone gets a seat this year, keep this in mind.

There are waning inconjuncts to the Aries pile-up - Black Moon Lilith, Eris and a still and retrograde Mars. 

 

This speaks to the action we have to take - because remember Mars holds all the cards now (dealing with our anger, the wounded masculine and feminine energies) - so maybe what we need to do/want to do slowly comes to light as the Moon waxes and Mars backpedals. 

 

We have a few days here before we get to a solid commitment when Saturn stations direct on September 29th.

 

This is about old moves we didn't make. Unfinished business. Loose ends that need to be tied up. The death that was postponed. The pilings that never went in. If it feels like the decision you are making now is a decision you should have already made - that sounds about right and what if I tell you, this decision could not have been made any sooner even if it looks like that might have been smarter.  

 

But now, the stuff we have ignored in the past, but can no longer brush under the rug without having dust bunnies the size of elephants living under our carpets - will be dealt with. 

This chart isn't a quick fix, the trine to Saturn indicates it will take work and time (but some obstacles will be removed/more easier maneuvered than what we could have faced earlier). 

 

It isn't a quick fix, but it is the fix we need.

Start with your intentions. This will help you get clear on what you want/need.

New Moon Guidelines

Set your intentions and make your affirmations for Virgo themes (or your natal Virgo house theme!) for the best outcomes - health, quality over quantity, service to others, attention to details, work, co-workers, employees, day to day activities, cleaning, organizing, pets. 

Your Capricorn mess because we have that smooth trine - whatever has fallen apart in the last year or so - toss that in here!

INTENTION TIPS: Let the earth guide you this month, plant your feet firmly on the ground, clear your head, write what your physical self, grounded by the earth, desires. Write your intentions down by hand in script on a blank piece of paper, speak the words out loud, maybe burn the paper and give the ashes back to the earth -  

 

now, release your attention from these things knowing your intention is known.

Life has heard you. 

 

Know these things are already yours.  

What do you do next? Do what is right in front of you. Whatever has grown from a dust bunny into an elephant through procrastination and fear. That's your piece of the collective puzzle. 

 

We are moving toward a more genuine/authentic life - we have to allow these old chapters to complete. Care for each moment as if it is your beloved offspring because it truly is.

xo all

(I find setting my intentions when I see that first little piece of the waxing Moon works best, but, NOT when the Moon is void which it will be on Saturday from 10:29AM - 2:33PM EDT. 

 

If even setting intentions feels overwhelming right now do something symbolic - if there is a big mess in your life that needs to be cleaned up - clean the floor, a closet, your bedroom. If something overwhelming needs to end - end something else, something smaller and manageable. Life will see you are able/ready to conclude things and larger things will start to conclude. If something overwhelming needs to start - start something else, something smaller and more manageable. Life will see you are able/ready to begin things and larger things will spring to life. 

 

Words are powerful now, but life can hear us without them.)

Today's Astrology Forecast | Wednesday, September 16, 2020 - a tense crossroads courtesy of overwhelm, decision time, practical plans and small do-able steps, readying ourselves for tomorrow's New Moon

The Moon is in Virgo now. 

We are nurtured through organization, having our ducks in a row, taking care of our health/our pets, doing our work. She trined a retrograde Uranus at 7:23AM EDT (solving old problems in unusual ways), goes on to trine a retrograde Jupiter at 6:54PM EDT (fixes/remedies bring back old opportunities) and finally opposes a retrograde Neptune at 10:03PM EDT (the work/reality of the day-to-day vs the dream/our escape tendencies/addictions, the bullshit). 

The couple days each month we have the Moon in Virgo bring oodles of positive aspects. The only trouble spot is that Neptune opposition and I say "only", but it's no small thing. Our Virgo planets (and especially keep this in mind if you are a Virgo Sun or rising) have a smooth path, but also a tendency toward that "escape". Neptune can be self-sabotagey if we don't give him something creative or healing to do. And if we lean too heavily in that direction we can get lost in the sauce, too. Balance matters.

This is the day the Sun's square to the Nodes perfects. Tension/frustration. This is a CROSSROADS. 

A situation must be solved before we can get any further. 

This will be in play at tomorrow's New Moon, so the decisions we make NOW will matter for months. 

Remember the South Node is in Sagittarius - our expansion, our beliefs, our hope. It is our hope, without action (and I am talking about small actions here), our big, bodacious moves that are too pie-in-the-sky/too big to line up with reality and our own programmed beliefs and the beliefs we fight to justify that SELF-SABOTAGE us now. 

IT'S TIME TO COME UNSTUCK. 

Make a plan. Stick to the facts. Talk it out in a loving way. Think about/work through the details. It's not sexy, but it's how life works now and for the next year. Big things are not going to work out as well as smaller/bite-sized things. Think local. Think logical. Stay flexible.

We have to break stuff down into do-able steps or we will be overwhelmed. 

Where is this stress/tension coming from? 

We will likely find something that just feels overwhelming. 

Break it down. Look for information. Make the call. Check for facts. Balance your checkbook. Clean your house/your car/your bedroom/your closet/your junk drawer. You need an organized space to work/think now. Get rid of what you no longer need - and don't overwhelm yourself with this - you can start with your desk. 

Symbolic actions are very powerful with the Sun at this crossroads. We are choosing the future because the future is ALWAYS choosing us. We can come unstuck RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW and then tomorrow we will put our feet on the ground, our broom to the floor, our pen to the paper and do it all over again. Be practical. Keep it real. 

A situation from the past has reached a crisis point - some HOPE for the future that is overwhelming us, probably into an escape, addiction or inactivity. Here is the day you take a small step in a new direction based on grounded reality. Virgo is mutable earth. It is solid, but not stuck. We can come unstuck right here in this ground - wherever our feet are planted. 

Make a decision/a plan. Make a call. Take some new action/fixes on old problems/situations. We will talk more about this in the New Moon post tonight. 

The Moon is dark and we will need some extra sleep/rest, but make the plan/decision/gather your facts, now. too. 

xo all

another photo by the amazing Julie-de-Waroquier